Critique, please

Let me set the story for these pictures. It was December of '01 in North Dakota. It was -18 outside on this morning and being a Texas boy, I was freezing my buns off despite the insulated coveralls over sweat clothes over thermals.

I was using my little old Canon Rebel 35mm with Fuji B&W film. We were visiting my wife's grandpa's farm and I desperately wanted to get some decent pictures despite my nose-hairs freezing. I liked several of the shots but want some brutally honest opinions of these particular pictures. My MIL took several of the pictures, made copies, framed them and gave them to other members of her family as Christmas gifts because they were taken at their Daddy's farm and in his basement where many of them spent a lot of time butchering their own meat.

All of these shots are straight from the camera with no adjustments, cropping or changes.

The first shot was taken by a a grain silo. All I did was hold the camera down low (I was not about to kneel in the snow!) and let it auto-focus. I liked the angle and the way it looked.



The rest were from down in the basement where they'd cut the meat. Due to the cold, I didn't take a lot of time to deal with exposures and camera settings. I wanted to get the shots and get back upstairs where the fireplace was!

I think the third one of the cart would have been awesome if the tripod/camera shadow wasn't in the picture.

The carcass hook picture is kinda creepy, I guess because those show up in a lot of horror movies.

The silo is kinda interesting, but just doesn't "grab" me.

As a historical montage, I can appreciate the significance they'd have for the family.

Love the meat hooks and the rubber stamps. I think the silo pic is good. With a shorter depth of field (the spiral object (screw?) were in sharp focus at the near end) I think it would really be a nice pic. The stamp pic looks a little overexposed, so some adjustment for that would help. Overall, some very nice quick-n-dirty work. I little massaging would make them really pop.

Agree with Ed on the cart - the shadow detracts quite a bit.

It would be easier to view them if they were 1000 pix or less in width. Even with my browser at max size, I have to scroll back and forth to read your text and view the images

I like the hooks and stamps. Ditto on the shadow in the cart pic.

Thanks for the input so far. I've resized them for easier viewing.

For the life of me, I can't remember what was casting the shadow on the cart/scales. I certainly don't remember having my tripod down there so it had to be something hanging off the ceiling. The only light available was photo flash or regular incandescent bulb.

I really wish I'd have taken my time and paid more attention to what I had my settings at because it may have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity due to some family health issues up there, etc.

Keep the thoughts coming. I suppose I could always do some post processing on some of them, including the stamps.

Thanks!

okay, I don't play in the photo threads, but you asked for brutally honest...

The first one says "here's a big black thing next to a big corrugated white thing"

The cart one really intrigued me. It doesn't seem composed, or created, or artificial. I really like that photo. The shadow doesn't bother me at all. Maybe it should, if I knew better, but it doesn't detract from the photo for me in the least. A photograph should show reality. Reality has shadows. Want no shadows? Paint.

The rest were neither dramatically exciting nor uninteresting. The meat hooks had a nice contrast, but seems deliberate. The stamps is pretty cool, but I'd like to be able to read the text of the stamps. I fully realize that may be the point, but it doesn't change that I'd like to know what all the stamps said.

STrider said:

okay, I don't play in the photo threads, but you asked for brutally honest...

The first one says "here's a big black thing next to a big corrugated white thing"

The cart one really intrigued me. It doesn't seem composed, or created, or artificial. I really like that photo. The shadow doesn't bother me at all. Maybe it should, if I knew better, but it doesn't detract from the photo for me in the least. A photograph should show reality. Reality has shadows. Want no shadows? Paint.

The rest were neither dramatically exciting nor uninteresting. The meat hooks had a nice contrast, but seems deliberate. The stamps is pretty cool, but I'd like to be able to read the text of the stamps. I fully realize that may be the point, but it doesn't change that I'd like to know what all the stamps said.

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I like your brand of brutal honesty.

When I had the shots developed, I was pretty unimpressed with all of them except the meat hooks and the auger by the silo. That's why I was really surprised when my MIL had them framed and given as gifts. Then I realized the family significance of them and the lack of "feel" to anyone else. I was just wondering if anyone else saw something in them that I wasn't seeing but the family.....they used these instruments every year with their father/grandfather on the farm.

Now, he's in a hospital in Fargo (yeah, that Fargo) at the age of 89 with a serious infection that they're having a hard time treating due to the floods, lack of doctors, etc. We have our set of pictures in the kitchen and as I was getting a glass of water, I realized these photos may become even more significant to the family members in short order.

Again, thanks for the input.

best wishes and prayers for your father-in-law and family during this tough time.

Tracker said:

best wishes and prayers for your father-in-law and family during this tough time.

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+1


As for the pictures, the meathook one with a little work is an excellent candidate. I really looked at the scale one and I'm convinced there's a tripod, camera and camera strap in the shot that pulls away from the story. Between the hooks and the rubber stamps, there's a story there for sure and the others just fill in the holes. I'd say play with the hook one a bit and see what you can create.

I like the meat hooks, but maybe it would have turned out better shooting from the other side, or at a different angle. It apears that theres a ton of light coming at the camera from beyond the hooks, making the hooks more of a siloete [spelling?]

my favorite by far is the stamps. I could see that one cropped down long and skinny in a black frame with some white matte around it in an art gallery or something. I guess its just me, but there's something I really like about that one.

the first one is cool, but some DOF would make it better

and the cart could be framed better, or have a better angle

but I'm probably the most n00b of anyone here when it comes to photog stuff

First, thanks to all who have commented and the well wishes. From what I'm hearing, Grandpa Clarence is doing better so, fingers and paws crossed on that.

I so wish I had that day to do over again. The lighting was perfect throughout the basement and all the old meat-cutting things, old family items....it was just a TON of opportunity. But it was so freaking cold......I was wondering if any of the shots were going to come out due to camera shake or the film freezing in the camera! I've never shot in sub-zero temps before so I had no idea how the camera was going to act.

The history in that basement is unbelievable. The family has been running that farm for at least 3 generations. Joe (the uncle) is a premier "no-till" farmer in the area and is just an amazing man who has worked his fingers to the bone keeping that farm doing well. It's on some prime land (something about ice age glaciers coming through, wonderfully black soil, etc) and I'd love to go back up there when there's not 100 other members of the family running amock.

Again, thanks for the honest opinions. I may try to tweak a few of them once I break down and buy an editing program but I just can't make myself do it at this point.

M38A1 said:

+1


As for the pictures, the meathook one with a little work is an excellent candidate. I really looked at the scale one and I'm convinced there's a tripod, camera and camera strap in the shot that pulls away from the story. Between the hooks and the rubber stamps, there's a story there for sure and the others just fill in the holes. I'd say play with the hook one a bit and see what you can create.

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You are correct, sir. I asked the spousal unit and she said I did indeed have a tripod in the basement that day. Talk about not paying attention to your surroundings.

well i dont have as in depth critique as the other guys lol but ill say that i like the hook shot the best. nice job on the lighting too.

BexarWolf said:

You are correct, sir. I asked the spousal unit and she said I did indeed have a tripod in the basement that day. Talk about not paying attention to your surroundings.

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...and I'll go one further and say you had a lens hood of some type that rounded the edges, or possibly a wide-angle that distorted to black the corners?

I played a bit with PS on removing the shadow. I'm not the best PS person at all, but after looking at it w/o the camera and tripod shadow, I like the shadow in there. I think STRider is on to something about being 'real' with that one. Please don't take offense to my poor PS skills. I was just wanting to know about what it would look like without the shadows and this gives a sort of good idea.

Before:

After:

Tracker said:

I think the third one of the cart would have been awesome if the tripod/camera shadow wasn't in the picture.

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That isn't a "cart". It is a feed scale. Used to weigh farm produce.

As for the photos, they remind me of my childhood. I grew up on a farm very close to Fargo.

Thanks

M38A1 said:

...and I'll go one further and say you had a lens hood of some type that rounded the edges, or possibly a wide-angle that distorted to black the corners?

I played a bit with PS on removing the shadow. I'm not the best PS person at all, but after looking at it w/o the camera and tripod shadow, I like the shadow in there. I think STRider is on to something about being 'real' with that one. Please don't take offense to my poor PS skills. I was just wanting to know about what it would look like without the shadows and this gives a sort of good idea.

Before:

After:

Click to expand...

I wish I had PS skills..........or even PS to attempt to have skills with.

I agree that the shadows distract but at the same time give some sort of scale or "feeling" to the picture. Thanks for working the pic. Now I don't feel quite as bad about the shadows.